Pseudophallus galadrielae, Dallevo-Gomes & Mattox & Toledo-Piza, 2020

Dallevo-Gomes, Caio I. A., Mattox, George M. T. & Toledo-Piza, Mônica, 2020, Taxonomic review of the pipefish genus Pseudophallus Herald, with the description of a new species (Syngnathiformes: Syngnathidae), Zootaxa 4859 (1), pp. 81-112 : 94-95

Pseudophallus galadrielae , new species

( Figs. 2–4 , 6–7 ; Tables 1 , 3–6 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B7C8EFBC-6FE5-4C7E-8CB6-7378DBC577A9

Pseudophallus mindii (non Meek & Hildebrand, 1923): Dawson, 1982: 5, 23, 45, 47–53, figs. 18, 20 (in part, description, distribution, comparisons with congeners, identification key); Dawson, 1985: 203 (in part, distribution, biogeography).

Diagnosis. Pseudophallus galadrielae differs from P. starksii and P. elcapitanensis in having 91.66% of specimens with 13 trunk rings (vs. 14 trunk rings).

Pseudophallus galadrielae differs from P. brasiliensis in the following combination of characters: 27–34 dorsal-fin rays (91.6% of specimens with 27–31), 6.0–8.25 subdorsal rings (92.9% with 6.0–7.25), 12–15 pectoral-fin rays (60.6% of specimens with 14–15) and 41–45 body rings (97.1% of specimens with 41–44) vs. 28–41 dorsalfin rays (98.5% of specimens with 28–37), 6.5–10.5 subdorsal rings (86.5% of specimens with 7.0–9.5), 12–15 pectoral-fin rays (82.4% of specimens with 13) and 40–50 total body rings (95.3% of specimens with 43–49) in P. brasiliensis .

Pseudophallus galadrielae differs from P. mindii in having 27–34 dorsal-fin rays (91.6% of specimens with 27–31), 6.0–8.25 subdorsal rings (92.9% of specimens with 6.0–7.25) and 41–45 body rings (97.1% of specimens with 41–44) vs. 32–42 dorsal-fin rays (96.4% of specimens with 34–42), 7.5–10.5 subdorsal rings in all specimens and 45–51 total body rings (94.4% of specimens with 46–51) in P. mindii .

Description. Meristic and morphometric characters detailed in Table 1 . General appearance in Figs. 2E and 3E . Body without scales, covered with bony plates forming rings along its axis, bony plates horizontally oval, with an elevation in midline forming bony ridges along body. Trunk rings 12–14 (91.6% of specimens with 13). Tail rings 28–32 (95.8% of specimens with 29–31). Body rings 41–45 (97.1% of specimens with 41–44). Subdorsal rings 6.0–8.25 (92.9% of specimens with 6.5–7.25). Subdorsal trunk rings 0–1.0. Subdorsal tail rings 6.0–8.0 (88.7% of specimens with 6.5–7.25). Dorsal-fin origin at vertical between posterior half of posteriormost trunk ring and anteriormost caudal ring. Posterior tip of superior trunk ridge at vertical through superior tail ridge, between 6.0 and 7.5 anteriormost tail rings. Lateral trunk ridge continuous with superior tail ridge with origin on first caudal ring. Inferior trunk ridge continuous with inferior tail ridge.

Body slender and cylindrical, transversal section of trunk heptagonal, with transition to quadrangular in tail at end of superior trunk ridge. Maximum body depth of females and juveniles at middle of trunk; in males at anterior region of brood pouch. Body depth decreasing posteriorly along superior trunk ridge to minimum depth on caudal peduncle. Dorsal profile of head straight or slightly inclined at snout region, more inclined at orbital region and straight at posterior region, with two nuchal plates between occipital region and first trunk ring. Ventral profile of head straight.

Dorsal fin not elevated, curved on first rays, straight along median portion with pointed end. Dorsal-fin rays of similar length, except the first two rays. Dorsal-fin rays 27–34 (91.6% of specimens with 28–31), posteriormost two rays closer to each other, difficult to distinguish in some specimens. Pectoral fin small, middle rays longer than outer and inner rays. Pectoral-fin origin on anteriormost trunk ring, and distal margin rarely extending beyond third trunk ring. Pectoral-fin rays 12–15 (60.6% of specimens with 14–15). Caudal fin small and fan like, with 10 rays (5 rays in each hypural plate). Pelvic and anal fins absent.

Mouth terminal, slightly inclined dorsally, jaws edentulous. Lower jaw slightly prognathous. Snout short, tubular, without dorsal or lateral ridges. Dorsal profile of snout with slight inclination following dorsal margin of eyes. Eyes located longitudinally at middle of head. Opercle occupying most of lateral surface of head posterior to eye, opercular opening reduced to pore on posterodorsal margin of opercle. Opercular ridge generally indistinct, except for some specimens with small protuberance on anterior region of opercle, following superior margin of bone. Lateral line and lateral line canals absent.

Sexual dimorphism. Males with brood pouch. Origin of brood pouch on posteriormost trunk rings, brood pouch rings extending along 14 brood-pouch rings. Bony plates of the brood pouch well developed and T-shaped encasing entire lateral portion of pouch, decreasing in size posteriorly and parallel with the inferior tail ridge. Ventral region of pouch with contralateral dermal folds extending towards the midline, dividing brood pouch longitudinally. Adult females with anal papilla on anal ring with small, barely visible spicules.

Color in alcohol. Ground color of head and body usually uniform, light beige to brown, sometimes with mottled patterns formed by different tones of brown spots. Thicker bony regions at body ridges with less or no chromatophores, forming nearly white longitudinal lines. Some specimens with series of dark arch-shaped blotches in lateral view, at every two or four rings. Bony rings with one or two white spots underneath bony plates; spots circular in shape when single spot present, oval shaped when two spots present, due to proximity of spots. Dorsolateral part of snout with layer of skin and mesethmoid forming light stripe. Dorsal-fin rays with scattered brown chromatophores. Pectoral fin hyaline. Caudal fin with same general coloration of body, sometimes in slightly different tone. ( Figs. 2E and 3E ).

Distribution. Lago Izabal and tributaries, an Atlantic drainage in Guatemala ( Fig. 4 ).

Etymology. The epithet galadrielae refers to the character Galadriel in the trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” by J. R. R. Tolkien. The elf ruler of Lothlórien is bearer of the ring Nenya, also known as the ring of water. It is used herein in reference to the additional bony rings diagnostic of the new species and its association with freshwater habitats. A noun in the genitive.

Specimens examined: holotype. FMNH 126156, 1, 83.9 mm SL, female, Lago Izabal, Izabal, Guatemala, 15º24’N 89º10’W, C. Barrientos, 5 Jul 2004 . Paratypes. FMNH 144982, 6, 48.7–63.1 mm SL, same data as holotype .

Non type material. Guatemala: GCRL 15751, 10. 33.6–40.6 mm SL, Lago Izabal, R. R. Miller, 27 Apr 1947; GCRL 15752 , 1, 105.4 mm SL, at entrance to Lago Izabal, Hester, Shipp & Dean, 5 Jun 1974; USNM 114267 , 55 , 30.3–41.3 mm SL, Lago Izabal, R. R. Miller, 27 Apr 1947 .

Figures

FIGURE 2: Species of the genus Pseudophallus: A—Pseudophallus brasiliensis (paratype) USNM 212058, 69.1 mm SL, Igarapé Inó, Furo de Panaquera, Rio Tocantins, Pará, Brazil. B—Pseudophallus elcapitanensis MCZ 88623, 110.6 mm SL, Río Picuro, Darien, Panama. C—Pseudophallus mindii (holotype) USNM 81770, 90.3 mm SL, Mindi Creek, Canal Zone, Panama. D—Pseudophallus starksii USNM 208365, 171.1 mm SL, upper tributary of Río Jaque, Província de Darien, Panama. E—Pseudophallus galadrielae. (holotype) FMNH 126156, 63.1mm SL, Lago Izabal, Guatemala. Red arrow indicates the anal papilla.

FIGURE 3: Detail of anterior portion of body of species of the genus Pseudophallus A—Pseudophallus brasiliensis (paratype) USNM 212058, 69.1 mm SL, Igarapé Inó Furo de Panaquera, Rio Tocantins, Pará, Brazil. B—Pseudophallus elcapitanensis MCZ 88623, 110.6 mm SL, Río Picuro, Darien, Panama. C—Pseudophallus mindii (holotype) USNM 81770, 90.3 mm SL, Mindi Creek, Canal Zone, Panama. D—Pseudophallus starksii USNM 208365, 171.1 mm SL, upper tributary of Río Jaque, Província de Darien, Panama. E—Pseudophallus galadrielae. (holotype), FMNH 126156, 63.1 mm SL, Lago Izabal, Guatemala.

FIGURE 4: Distribution map of species of Pseudophallus occurring in drainages along the Atlantic coast, based on specimens examined in this study.

FIGURE 6. Scatterplot of scores of linear discriminant analysis for morphometric and meristic characters of the three species of Pseudophallus occurring in Atlantic drainages. LD1: Linear discriminant 1, LD2: Linear discriminant 2, A: Standard length, B: Head length, C: Snout Length, D: Snout depth, E: Pectoral-fin length, F: Pectoral-fin base length, G: Tail length, H: Dorsal-fin base length, I: Anal ring depth, J: Body depth, K: Head depth, L: Body width, M: Trunk depth, N: Orbital diameter, O: Snout width, P: Dorsal-fin rays, Q: Pectoral-fin rays, R: Trunk rings, S: Caudal rings, T: Subdorsal trunk rings, U: Subdorsal caudal rings, V: Origin of dorsal fin.

FIGURE 7. Maps of distribution of specimens of Pseudophallus available for study. Left side: distribution of specimens examined for the morphological analysis in this study. Right side map: distribution of voucher specimens with genetic sequences on GenBank (as of April 2020).